Honda’s Pedrosa on Pole for Misano MotoGP

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa took advantage of the improved dry conditions during qualifying Saturday for the 2012 San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, the Spaniard taking the pole for Sunday’s race.

Pedrosa, who trails Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo by 13 points with six rounds remaining, posted a 1:33.857, the qualifying time becoming the new fastest lap at Misano. This was his fourth pole of 2012 MotoGP. Joining Pedrosa on the front row will be Lorenzo and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow.

The qualifying session was the first one to be held in dry conditions; Friday’s practice sessions, which were topped by Cardion AB Racing Ducati’s Karel Abraham, and Saturday’s third practice session, which was led by San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, were plagued by rain.

But when the 2.626-mile circuit containing 16 turns dried out, Pedrosa put in the fastest lap to take the pole. In the final minutes, Lorenzo pushed his YZR-M1 to take the second position, trailing Pedrosa by a mere 0.018 of a second. Crutchlow, who was on the provisional pole at one point, followed Pedrosa by 0.144 of a second.

Heading up the second row is LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, who is showing additional comfort on the satellite RC213V. He will be joined by Bautista and Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi, who finished 0.762 of a second behind, the final rider to post within a second of the Spaniard.

Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso will start on top of the third row. He will be joined by Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies, who suffered a crash halfway through the session, and Casey Stoner’s substitute on the Repsol Honda, Jonathan Rea. The World Superbike rider consistently went quicker during the hour-long qualifying session, showing he is adapting well to the RC213V ahead of his MotoGP debut.

Ducati’s Nicky Hayden completed the top ten, putting in the laps despite still suffering from a right hand injury. Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet finished as top CRT, having qualified in 12th. Apart from Spies, the only other crasher was Speed Master’s Mattia Pasini, who walked away unscathed, MotoGP says.

The 21-rider grid will return to Misano Sunday for the San Marino Grand Prix, which will be broadcast on SPEED TV at 8 a.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 16, and once again at 3:30 p.m.